


Found at Last

by Hatswithpompoms



Category: RWBY
Genre: Drabble, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28192170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hatswithpompoms/pseuds/Hatswithpompoms
Summary: When Jinn reveals the identity of Ozma's soulmate, and subsequently, all of his reincarnations' soulmates as well, Oscar finds himself facing something worse than living without a partner for life.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Ozma/Salem (RWBY), Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Found at Last

When he first felt it coming, he’d dropped what he was doing. Mainly because of the pain. It was a tight, bright orange, burning across his chest. He doubled over onto the ground and let out a cry. His aunt, who had heard the crash had already came running. She helped him to a chair and got him painkillers and a mirror. Oscar was more interesting in the painkillers at first.

But then the words had began to form. Elegant purple script that looped across his chest in burning letters. He watched and waited for them. The first words his soulmate would say. He couldn’t quite tell what they were, reflected in the glass, but they seemed unique, which was good. He didn’t even recognise one of them. His aunt bit her lip and gave him a small smile. Minutes later they were done. She watched him frown and squint at the words in the mirror for a while until she eventually sat him back down and read them out. They were certainly odd. 

For weeks he researched the name in his soulmark until the even the librarian had no more suggestions for where to look. All he found only were some vague references to some ancient hero in fairy tales. Some sources cited him as the prince in the story of the maiden in the tower, but there was nothing concrete, and definitely nothing that made his soulmark make any sense. Eventually he decided his soulmate must be really into folklore or something and got on with his life. At least he’d know them when he met them. They weren’t going to be hard to miss. 

And then Ozpin had started speaking in his head, and all thoughts of soulmates were forgotten. Being some ancient wizard’s next life took precedent. He didn’t have a mirror in his room and his mark was hard to read without one so Ozpin didn’t see it. If he even looked when Oscar got changed, which he maintained he didn’t. It wasn’t until they were travelling to Haven and he was stuck sitting with nothing to do but think that the thought struck him. How did soulmates work if a person had two souls?

“What about soulmates? How… does that work?” He asked quietly.

_We share a soulmate. Every one of my reincarnations share the same soulmate._

Oscar nodded, and then asked who this shared soulmate was. Ozpin didn’t reply. He didn’t ask about his soulmark either. And Oscar could tell he wasn’t prying into his head for it. After a small bout of silence Ozpin said quietly.

_Mine was ‘This is the beginning of the end Ozpin’ but I never met them._ Oscar hesitated before replying

“’My long lost Ozma, found at last.’ That’s my soulmark”

Ozpin didn’t reply, but Oscar felt the dread and fear that after he said it. But he didn’t understand why, not until Jinn.

Not until they were stood in an unknown place, watching Ozma’s story. _His_ story. Ozma was the first reincarnation, and he and Salem were soulmates. Salem was his soulmate. When she was done exposing every moment of Ozpin’s past, she told them about soulmates. After all, us had included Oscar, and Ozpin had been hiding his soulmate from him since they first met. Not that Oscar minded, he was fairly convinced that in this case ignorance was bliss. Nevertheless, Jinn explained that if Ozma’s reincarnation and Salem did not speak in their lifetime, then it would simply be an important phrase Salem spoke about them during their lifetime. Or sometimes they would have no mark. By the end of her small speech Oscar was definitely sure that ignorance was bliss. Because his words weren’t the words of some far away woman speaking to an abstract version of her soulmate, and they existed. He knew what his words meant. His words meant that he would meet Salem. Face to face. They were mocking, gloating. They weren’t the words of someone defeated.

His head was still spinning from these revelations when the punch landed on his cheek. He didn’t feel the pain. Not until Ozpin left. And then he was alone. With the new knowledge Jinn had brought and the fear of standing face to face with her.

Ruby asked him about it later. In a quiet corner.

“Did you know?” She said.

“No” he’d replied. And that had been the end of the conversation. After that he hadn’t discussed them with anybody. It had quickly become clear to everyone that doing so was a bad idea. But Ruby had come back, after he’d went on his ‘shopping trip’. And she’d shown him her words. A bright green ‘SALUTATIONS!’ on her arm. She’d told him about Penny and how she’d lost her and that it was ok because not everybody got to keep their soulmates and, she glanced at Weiss here, some people hadn’t even found theirs yet. 

Oscar, however, found that the notion of not having a soulmate he could be with didn’t really bother him, maybe it would when he was older. No, what bothered him was that he was going to meet the one he had. This time, his soulmate troubles didn’t go away. When Ruby and Penny reunited in Atlas, he was happy, but at the back of his mind the ever-lingering presence of her was still there. And every time someone mentioned Oz or Salem, it came back. Still, he got on with life in Atlas, and on the whole, he manged to smile and laugh and have an alright time.

That is until things began to go wrong. The words Salem is coming echoed in his head, long after they’d escaped Neapolitan. The words clogged his head, but he kept going, maybe he wouldn’t see her here, maybe he still had time. But the thought lingered. 

The knowledge that he would be facing Salem made him brave in some ways. Nothing could be worse than her. Too brave because it made him think he could face Ironwood and now he was falling towards the tundra with no aura and only half formed memories to save him. And when he landed and saw the oncoming storm, he felt the anxiety rise like acid green tentacles. Soon, he was going to face her.

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when you binge soulmate AUs to cheer yourself up after watching episode 4 of volume 8. Instead you end up depressing yourself even more by writing this. It's not the greatest work of fiction but I hope you enjoyed. Comments and Kudos are always appreciated!


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